The answer is no. Let us assume a man marries his first wife under the Yoruba Customary law and in spite of this marriage, he goes ahead to marry a second wife under the English law; this latter marriage is null and void. In real life, women who happen to be married as second wife in this kind of situation usually think their marriage under the English law is superior and legal, while the first Customary law marriage is not. In fact, this is against the law. Once a man is married under the Customary law, he cannot marry another woman under the English law.

In a nutshell, each form of marriage enjoys the same measure of recognition. One is not superior or inferior to the other. However, if a man marries his first wife under the Customary law and later marries another woman under the English law, the second marriage is not only inferior to the first one but also illegal and criminal. Anyone who does that risks 5 years’ imprisonment . It is also an offence for a person who is first married under the English law to enter into another marriage under the Customary law. The punishment is equally 5 years’ imprisonment. Each type of marriage has its merits and demerits. For instance, a marriage under the English law is monogamous which means a man cannot marry more than one wife. A marriage either under Customary or Islamic law, on the other hand, allows a man to marry more than one wife. In fact, under Customary law, a man can marry as many wives as he wants.

“Many people tend to think that only marriages under the
Act are legal. This is grossly erroneous. The three types of
marriage are legal.”

Folake Solanke

Above all, a marriage under the English law, otherwise known as the monogamous marriage, is more appealing to women who would not want their husband to marry another wife. Again, a monogamous marriage protects the interest of a woman whose husband dies without a will. She or her children can apply for Letters of Administration. This may not be the case with a woman married according to the Customary law. This is because under some customs, a woman is regarded as an object to be inherited rather than being a subject of inheritance, while in some others only sons have right to inherit their late fathers’ property; daughters are not so entitled. Specifically, in Igbo land, daughters are forbidden from inheriting their fathers’ property because it is believed that, upon marriage, a woman would transfer such property to her husband who is a stranger to her paternal family. However, Nigerian courts have frowned at such customs and declared them to be discriminatory especially in recent time .

Extracted from pages 92-93 of Kehinde Adegbite's LEARNING THE LAW IN NIGERIA, a book written in everyday language in order to bring the Nigerian law to the doorstep of non-lawyers. For more information on the book and additional hints on everyday legal issues faced by non-lawyers, visit the author's blog www.kehindeadegbite.com.ng

You can visit my YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm4Co7xMYyTQ__eyCn1Vmsg

Can the man who marries a wife under traditional law legally marry another one under traditional laws too?

There's your answer as to the superiority or not of the court marriage.

Oh, I just saw this after many years.

Yes, somebody who is married under the customary (traditional marriage) can do another marriage with another person under customary law which means that customary law allows polygamy but this is not possible if the first marriage was celebrated under the statute.